Amplified: Seventy
weeks [of years, or 490 years] are decreed upon your people and upon
your holy city [Jerusalem], to finish and put an end to transgression,
to seal up and make full the measure of sin, to purge away and make
expiation and reconciliation for sin, to bring in everlasting
righteousness (permanent moral and spiritual rectitude in every area
and relation) to seal up vision and prophecy and prophet, and to
anoint a Holy of Holies.
(Amplified
Bible - Lockman)KJV:Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and
upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of
sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in
everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and
to anoint the most Holy.
NLT: A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your
people and your holy city to put down rebellion, to bring an end to
sin, to atone for guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to
confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. (NLT
- Tyndale House)Young's Literal: Seventy weeks are determined for thy
people, and for thy holy city, to shut up the transgression, and to
seal up sins, and to cover iniquity, and to bring in righteousness
age-during, and to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the holy
of holies.

Before we begin these commentary notes on
the most profound predictive prophecy in all of Scripture
it would be good to first review some basic guidelines for interpretation of
prophecy or eschatology (eschatos = last, last things + -ology = study of),
the study of last things, especially but not exclusively, the study of the
"end times" (because much of prophecy has already been fulfilled).
Click the brief Prophecy Primer
for an explanation of why one should seek to interpret Daniel 9:24, 25, 26,
27 literally, which is the approach taken by this commentary on Daniel. Note that
in one sense all of God's word is prophecy or a speaking forth, but the
Prophecy Primer deals specifically with that portion of God's Word which is predictive of future events.
Remember that approximately 25%
of the Bible was predictive prophecy at the time it was written and about
50% of those prophecies have already been literally fulfilled. You can
"stake your life" on the fact that God will fulfill the other 50% without
exception.

Daniel 9:24-27 holds the key to all
prophetic interpretation and as such is the backbone of biblical prophecy.

Well known pastor and author
Ray Pritchard writes that

If you understand what these verses mean,
you will have a good framework for understanding all that the Bible says
about the future.

Miss this, and Revelation
will be a mystery to you

If you have wondered where
certain popular writers get the concept of a future seven-year Tribulation
period, you will find the answer in this passage. Jesus refers to it in Mt
24:15 as does Paul in 2Th 2:1, 2, 3, 4. And the amazing events of Rev 6-19 are simply an expansion of Daniel
9:27. What is presented here in a condensed form is greatly expanded in the
New Testament. This passage is the key that unlocks many other biblical
prophecies. (A
Peek into God's Calendar)

Well known pastor Chuck Swindoll says that

the vision of
the seventy weeks revealed in Daniel 9:24-27 is undoubtedly "the
backbone of Biblical prophecy" concerning Israel, Christ, and the
Antichrist. It is also true that fewer predictions in Scripture have been
interpreted in as many ways as have the seventy weeks of Daniel.

In regard to the numerous interpretations
of Daniel 9:24-27, the reader should keep in mind that fortunately God is
not a God of confusion (1Cor 14:33) and thus God's Word has one intended
meaning (although prophecy can occasionally have a "double fulfillment") and
that meaning is most advantageously assessed by interpreting the passage as
literally as possible. The moment one begins to "see" figurative or symbolic
language in passages that can otherwise be interpreted literally, is the
moment that speculation and imagination began to incubate, eventually giving
birth to erroneous, even absurd interpretations. We will not attempt to
review the numerous interpretations as in our opinion that would be a
profitless exercise in light of the fact that the plain sense of this great
passage makes good sense when viewed in the light of historical fulfillment.
The fact that much of this prophecy has literally been fulfilled is support
for the interpretation that the remaining portion will be literally
fulfilled in the future.

John Walvoord, former president of Dallas Theological Seminary,
writes that

The interpretation of the revelation
given to Daniel concerning the seventy weeks (Daniel 9:24-27) constitutes
one of the determining factors in the whole system of prophecy. The
attention given to it by all schools of interpretation, and the attacks upon
the authenticity of the book itself combine to focus the white light of
investigation upon it. The interpretation of this passage inevitably colors
all other prophetic views, and a proper understanding of it is the sine
qua non of any student of prophecy. (Chapter
5 The Seventieth Week of Daniel) (Bolding added)

Dr Charles Ray notes that...

Regardless of one’s theological
persuasion, Daniel 9:24-27 is one of the most difficult passages to
interpret. Challenges arise both in the area of linguistics and in theology,
specifically eschatology. Some of the verbs are somewhat obscure, the
chronological framework is not particularly easy to establish, and a dash of
symbolism is thrown in the mix for good measure. The effort to unravel these
four verses is worth it, however. Eschatological details are packed in them
like sardines. A proper understanding of this highly scrutinized pericope
will make end-time events less confusing. An overview of the passage reveals
that Da 9:24 summarizes all four verses, Da 9:25 concerns the 69 “sevens,”
and Da 9:27 describes the 70th “seven.” (Ed: Da 9:26 = Time Between
69th and 70th Weeks) (A
Study of Daniel 9:24 - 27 - Part I)

2) Daniel 9:24-27 - Outlines the future history of
Israel
As will be discussed below, Daniel 9:24-27 lays out in summary form a
timetable of the events that will impact Israel. There is no reference
whatsoever to "the church" in this passage, although some commentators still
imagine some reference to "the church."

a) The Jews could have known the time of the Messiah's arrival (cf Jesus'
declaration Lk 19:44).

b) The Jews will be able to know the time of the "Anti-Messiah's" (Antichrist) arrival (cf Mt 24:15, 2Th 2:1, 2, 3, 4).

The accuracy of the prediction of the
coming of Messiah, Prince, is indisputable evidence of that the Bible is not
a book inspired by man but could only have been inspired by God Who Alone
knows the future.

Sir Isaac Newton, who wrote a discourse
on the topic, said we could stake the truth of Christianity on that prophecy
alone, made five centuries before Christ.

Respected pastor and author Ray
Stedman writes that Daniel 9:24-27 is

one of the strongest evidences to prove
the divine inspiration of the Bible. Many (believers) are frequently asked
why (they) believe the Bible to be the Word of God, and it is helpful to
know certain passages which clearly set forth predictive elements that are
unmistakable and which do indicate the ability of the Bible to predict
events far in the distant future. This could only be by divine power....(Daniel
9:24-27) pinpoints the exact moment in history when the Jewish
Messiah would present Himself to the Jewish people, and it does so over five
hundred years before the event took place. It is so plain and detailed that
it has always been an acute embarrassment to Jewish commentators.

The prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27 is so
compellingly accurate, that it leaves no doubt that God is sovereign and in
full control over time and the affairs of men. This grand truth should
encourage the saint and frighten the sinner who is not yet saved to consider
the claims.

5) Has spurred many (Jews and Gentiles) to consider the claims of the
Messiah

Although many of the stories are
anecdotal (see below), the truth in Daniel 9:24-27 has caused many who seek
to refute these prophecies find that they are confronted with indisputable
evidence of the Messiah.

6) Refutes the attempt by many to question the date of writing of Daniel's
prophecies

Liberal scholars, both Gentile and Jew,
have tried to late-date Daniel in order to remove the onus of predictive
prophecy. They say the book was written after the events occurred but in
such a way as to appear that it was written beforehand. Daniel 9:24-27 is an
irrefutable witness that the prophecy of the Messiah's coming and being cut
off is true. Since, no one "late-dates" Daniel to the time of Christ,
Daniel 9:24-27 is one clear case of predictive prophecy, which establishes
the credibility of everything else. This observation also explains why the
critics try so hard to debunk this passage.

Henry Morris
adds that Daniel's

prophecy was given...well over half a
millennium before its fulfillment. The probability that Daniel could guess
the date of the manifestation and crucifixion of the Messiah is
essentially zero. Only supernatural inspiration can account for
fulfilled prophecies like this. In fact, these events were fulfilled almost
two centuries even after the date assigned to Daniel by scholars who deny
that such prophecies can valid!" (Morris,
Henry: Defenders Study Bible. World Publishing - an excellent
resource from a conservative, literal viewpoint by one of the world's
leading scholars on creationism)

Ray Pritchard writes that Daniel
9:24-27 is...

the rock on which naturalistic
theories have foundered. For generations liberal scholars have tried to
late-date Daniel in order to remove the onus of predictive prophecy. They
say the book was written after the events occurred but in such a way as to
appear that it was written beforehand. However, no one late-dates the book
to the time of Christ. This leaves us with one clear case of predictive
prophecy, which establishes the credibility of everything else. No wonder
the critics try so hard to debunk this passage. (A
Peek into God's Calendar)

This statement applies to Daniel in
general also, for no book in the Bible says more about the so called endtimes than Daniel. Many orthodox and conservative Jews believe the
time is ripe for the coming of Messiah. They see Israel's return to her
homeland after more than 1,900 years of national dispersion as having great
prophetic significance. They believe the May, 1948 rebirth of Israel and
waves of immigration (which is the meaning of the Hebrew word aliyah)
from all over the world are converging with many other factors to set the
stage for the predicted coming of a national Deliverer. They see the coming
of this Messiah as being good not only for Israel but for the whole earth.
According to the prophet Isaiah, He will cause the nations to

beat their swords into plowshares, and
their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, neither shall they learn war anymore (Is 2:4-see
notes)

To quote from an email received February
4, 2004 from "The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement" (an
Orthodox Jewish group based in Jerusalem)

"The Hand of G_d appears again and again
in Jerusalem and the Temple Mount...to purify the Temple Mount and
immediately rebuild the house of G_d as the climax of the exciting
redemptional times in which we are now living in Israel which will open
the Eastern Gate for the coming of Mashiach ben David", this latter name
of course referring to the expected Messiah. Interestingly, both Jews and
Christians share the belief that a period of turmoil and distress will
precede the coming of Messiah. The Jewish document called "Talmudic Sages"
draws a dark picture of this time. Accordingly, one of these Jewish sages
wrote, "Let him [Messiah] come, but let me not see him" (Sanh. 98b).

INTERPRETATION OF
Daniel 9:24-27:CHRISTOLOGICAL OR
NON-CHRISTOLOGICAL?
THAT IS THE QUESTION

One
of the most respected names in the study of Bible prophecy, Dr. John
Walvoord, writes some sage remarks regarding the interpretative difficulties
of Daniel 9:24-27:

In the concluding four verses of Daniel
9, one of the most important prophecies of the Old Testament is
contained...Although many divergent interpretations have been advanced in
explanation of this prophecy, they may first be divided into two major
divisions, namely, the Christological and the non‑Christological
views. The non‑Christological approach may be subdivided into the
liberal critical view and the conservative amillennial view.

The
non-Christological group (Ref) attempts to find fulfillment of the
Daniel's 70 Weeks in the events leading up to the persecution of Antiochus
Epiphanes (see Daniel notes
and
additional discussion). In 168BC, a pagan altar was constructed on top of the great
altar of burnt sacrifices, and a pagan sacrifice was offered under the reign
of Antiochus Epiphanes. This act precipitated the Maccabean revolt which
Antiochus attempted unsuccessfully to put down with great cruelty (167-164
B.C.).

Recall that Daniel was written in two languages, Hebrew and Aramaic. From
Daniel 2:4b to Da 7:28, 8:1 the language is Aramaic for the focus is on the
Gentile world powers that would interact with Israel, and from Daniel 8:1
onward the focus of the book turns from the future of the Gentile world
powers to the future of Israel.

Another interesting observation is that in Daniel 9 Yahweh or
Jehovah is used seven times but no where else in the entire book!
Why would the Spirit inspire the usage in this chapter?
Jehovah is God's
covenant name and this chapter preeminently emphasizes that He will keep His
promise to bring the Jews back to their land, the land He promised in
covenant to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Note Abraham's question in Ge
15:7 then God's answer in Ge 15:8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and
especially Ge 15:18, 19, 20, 21).

Daniel wrote chapter 9 about 538
BC and had lived long enough to have witnessed the fulfillment of the
prophecy in
Daniel 2 that predicted Babylon would give
way to another kingdom the Medo-Persians. It is worth remembering that
Daniel would be about 82 years old and yet he is still standing fast
as a man of the Word and of prayer. What Daniel discovered as he read
Jeremiah'sprophecy (Jer
25:11,12 or a letter Jeremiah wrote to the exiles =
Jer 29:10) provoked him to prayer, which
presents a basic principle that the foundation of prayer is the Word of God.

Jesus taught that

If you abide in Me, and My words abide
in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.' (Jn15:7,
cp Jas 5:15, 16, 1Jn 5:14, 15)

So as we look at the Word of God, we
know how to pray. In prayer we align ourselves, our desires, our actions,
our petitions, with the Word of God . And we align our lives with the word
of God.

It was

C
H Spurgeon who said

Oh! That you studied your Bibles more!
Oh! That we all did! How we could plead the promises! How often we should
prevail with God when we could hold Him to His word, and say, 'Fulfill this
Word unto Thy servant, whereon Thou hast caused me to hope.' Oh! It is grand
praying when our mouth is full of God's Word, for there is no word that can
prevail with Him like His own.

At
the time the prophecy recorded in Daniel 9 was given, the Babylonian Empire
had fallen to the Medo-Persian Empire. Cyrus (also referred to as Darius)
was in power. Although the Jewish exiles were now the captives of the
Medo-Persians, Daniel retained his position as prime minister because of his
integrity. Daniel received his revelation in the year 538 BC, about 67 years
after he had been taken captive.

Keil and Delitzsch commenting on Daniel 9:24 says that...

This message of the angel relates to the
most important revelations regarding the future development of the kingdom
of God. (Note: I think they stop somewhat short - Yes, it refers to
the "Kingdom of God" but especially deals with God's King and His future
plan for Israel, not the Gentiles.)

Resources to Aid
Study of Daniel 9:24-27

Clicklisting of commentaries categorized by
their interpretative approach to the book of Daniel and especially Daniel
9:24-27 so that you can be a Berean (Acts 17:11-note)

Clickbrief refresher on some
basic principles of interpreting Bible prophecy.

EXPOSITION OF DANIEL 9:24-27
VERSE BY VERSE

SEVENTY WEEKS(Lv 25:8; Nu 14:34;
Ezek 4:6) Literally this reads 70
sevens or 70 units of seven. (Click
discussion of why the number 70 and its
relationship to Sabbath rests). The NIV ("seventy 'sevens' are decreed")
is actually more literal than and therefore easier to understand than the KJV and NAS which translate "seven"
as "weeks" which naturally congers up the thought of a "week of
days". In fairness to the NAS, the 95 version does have a marginal
note that says "Or units of seven, and so throughout the
chapter".

In Daniel 9:24 Gabriel gives Daniel
a general summary of what will be accomplished during the seventy weeks.

Seventy is used to describe the
number of years Judah was to be in exile in Babylon (2Chr 36:21, Jer
25:11,12; Jer 29:10, Da 9:2)

Weeks (07620) (shabuwa', sabua' or shabua')
is found 6x in the four verses of Da 9:24-27. In simple terms shabua' means a "unit of seven" and could refer to seven of anything.
It is simply a numerical measure. Our
English equivalent is "heptad"
which means "a group of seven". Daniel as well as all of the Jews
would have been quite familiar with the concept of "sevens of years" from
the Mosaic law stipulating that ever seventh year was to be a sabbatical or
rest year for the land during which time they were to plant no crops (Lev
25:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). The reason Daniel was praying in fact was because he
had read in Jeremiah that Judah was in exile so that the land would be
allowed to keep its sabbath rests (for 490 years they had failed to keep
every seventh year as a sabbath!) (cf 2Chr 36:21). The only other type of
weeks or sevens mentioned in Scripture are sevens of days (Sabbath rest each
week). As Miller says "The burden of proof rests squarely upon anyone who
would take the sevens in any other sense (other than days or years).﻿" (New
American Commentary: Daniel).

Miller also counters the
interpretation that seeks to try to interpret these numbers symbolically
noting...

those who contend that the sevens are
symbolic must account for the fact that specific numbers are used and for
division of the seventy sevens into units of seven, sixty-two, and one. Why
would such definite numbers be employed to represent periods of indefinite
length? (Ibid).

Three times in the OT, shabua' is modified by the Hebrew word for days, with the "seven days" referring to a literal
week (Ezek 45:21, Da 10:2, 3), 6 times in Daniel 9:24, 25, 26, 27 shabua' is used as a unit of seven without an added
unit of time and 11 times it is used to mean a literal week of seven days
(Ge 29:27,28, Lev 12:5) with 8 of 11 uses referring to the
Jewish Feast of Weeks or Pentecost (Ex 34:22, Nu 28:26, Dt
16:9 [x2], Dt 16:10, 16, 2Chr 8:13, Jer 5:24). Note for example Leviticus
12:5 which describes the length of time a mother shall remain unclean
declaring

she shall be
unclean for two weeks... (literally "two sevens" or "two
units of seven")

Comment:
Observe that the context
most naturally leads to the interpretation as "two units of seven"
days. By comparison the Hebrew of Da 9:24, 25, 26,
27 omits the unit of time, because in context the
time is most naturally understood as "years".

Assuming a literal interpretation,
seventy weeks or units of seven (seventy heptads, units of measure) can be
divided as follows...

Daniel 9:24 - a comprehensive picture of
the entire prophecy

Daniel 9:25 - the first 69 sevens (483
years)

Daniel 9:26 - the events between the 69th
and 70th sevens

Daniel 9:27 - conclusion punctuated by
the 70th seven of 7 years.

Note that Daniel’s use of definite numbers such as seventy, seven,
sixty-two, and one makes it very difficult to imagine
that this passage is to be interpreted symbolically as indefinite periods of
time. Remember one of our
simple but foundational "rules" in interpreting prophecy is that...

If the plain sense
makes good sense,
don't try to make some other sense
or it may result in
no
sense (nonsense).

To say that the events described in Da
9:24, 25, 26, 27 occurred in 490 days, 490 weeks or 490 months
makes no sense ("nonsense") from the context! Even older commentaries see
this as only making sense if it is interpreted as years.

For example Gill writes that

this space of "seventy" weeks is not to be understood of weeks of days;
which is too short a time for the fulfillment of so many events as are
mentioned; nor were they fulfilled within such a space of time; but of weeks
of years, and make up four hundred and ninety years. (Bolding
added)

It is often said that in interpretation
of Scripture, "context is king" and the verses that follow (Da 9:25, 26)
that predict the timing of the First Advent of Christ, the Crucifixion of
Christ, and the Destruction of Jerusalem demand that the only unit of time
that would make sense is years. that the most appropriate unit of
time one should use to modify the "seventy units of seven". The rationale
for interpreting the unit as years is discussed in more detail
elsewhere (click
here).

Adam Clarke notes that...

The Jews had Sabbatic years, by
which their years were divided into weeks of years, as in this
important prophecy, each week containing seven years.

BKC adds that...

Also if days were intended one would
expect Daniel to have added “of days” after “70sevens”
for in Da 10:2, 3 he wrote literally, “three sevens of days” (Ed: See
Young's Literal = "three weeks of days" Da 10:2, 3YLT).

In summary, the context leads one to
conclude that Daniel is referring to "seventy sevens" of "years" for a total of
490 years (70 x "7" years = 490 years).

Clickfor more detailed discussion of why
"years" is the most appropriate unit of time regarding the
interpretation of the 70 x 7's.

HOW MANY DAYS
IN ONE YEAR?

The next question is whether the year
is 360 days (lunar) or 365 days (solar)?

First, observe the Genesis record
regarding the beginning and end of the Flood...

BEGIN = In the six hundredth year
of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on
the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the
floodgates of the sky were opened. (Genesis 7:11)

END = In the seventh month, on the
seventeenth day of the month, the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat.
(Genesis 8:4)

Thus we can conclude the flood lasted 5
months. Now compare Moses record of this time period...

The water prevailed upon the earth one
hundred and fifty days. (Genesis 7:24 )

and the water receded steadily from the
earth, and at the end of one hundred and fifty days the water decreased.
(Genesis 8:3)

Thus the flood lasted for 150 days or 5
months, which yields 30 days/month.

Now compare Daniel 7:25 which records the
little horn's power will last for "time, times and half a time" which
equates with three and one-half. And comparing with Revelation 13:5 we note
the Little Horn or Antichrist is granted authority for 42 months or 3.5
years. Thus "time, times and half a time" equates with 3.5 years. When we
compare Daniel 7:25 with Revelation 12:6 and Revelation 12:14, we note that
"time, times and half a time" equates with 1260 days which equates
with 30 days/month for the 3.5 year period. In sum, examination of the
Scripture reveals that from Genesis to Revelation the Biblical month is
thirty day. Therefore, the time period indicated by the seventy sevens
is a period of 490 years of 360 days each.

30 DAYS/MONTH
360 DAYS/YEAR

Although many if not most of the older
commentaries are
woefully inadequate when it comes to the interpretation of prophecy
(primarily because they have fallen into the "abyss" of replacing Israel
with the Church in their interpretation of Old Testament prophecies - see Israel of God), there
are a few relatively good older commentaries, and one is by Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
which was published in 1871. It is refreshing to read their clear and cogent
literal interpretation of Daniel 9:24...

Seventy weeks -- namely, of years;
literally, "Seventy sevens"; seventy heptads or hebdomads; four hundred
ninety years; expressed in a form of "concealed definiteness"
[Hengstenberg], a usual way with the prophets.

The Babylonian captivity
is a turning point in the history of the kingdom of God. It
terminated the free Old Testament theocracy. Up to that time Israel, though
oppressed at times, was; as a rule, free.

From the Babylonian captivity
the theocracy never recovered its full freedom down to its entire suspension
by Rome; and this period of Israel's subjection to the Gentiles is to
continue till the millennium (Re 20:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
11, 12, 13, 14, 15) (Ed: "The
Times of the Gentiles" Lk
21:24), when Israel shall be restored as head of the New
Testament theocracy, which will embrace the whole earth. The free theocracy
ceased in the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, and the fourth of Jehoiakim; the
year of the world 3338, the point at which the seventy years of the
captivity. begin. Heretofore Israel had a right, if subjugated by a foreign
king, to shake off the yoke (Jdg 4:1-5:31 2Ki 18:7) as an unlawful one, at
the first opportunity. But the prophets (Jer 27:9, 10, 11) declared it to be
God's will that they should submit to Babylon. Hence every effort of
Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and Zedekiah to rebel was vain. The period of the world
times, and of Israel's depression, from the Babylonian captivity to the
millennium, though abounding more in afflictions (for example, the two
destructions of Jerusalem, Antiochus' persecution, and those which
Christians suffered), contains all that was good in the preceding ones,
summed up in Christ, but in a way visible only to the eye of faith. Since He
came as a Servant, He chose for His appearing the period darkest of all as
to His people's temporal state. Always fresh persecutors have been rising,
whose end is destruction, and so it shall be with the last enemy,
Antichrist. As the Davidic epoch is the point of the covenant-people's
highest glory, so the captivity is that of their lowest humiliation.
Accordingly, the people's sufferings are reflected in the picture of the
suffering Messiah. He is no longer represented as the theocratic King, the
Antitype of David, but as the Servant of God and Son of man; at the same
time the cross being the way to glory (compare Da 9:1-27 with Da 2:34, 35,
44 Da 12:7). In the second and seventh chapters (of Daniel), Christ's first
coming is not noticed, for Daniel's object was to prophesy to his nation as
to the whole period from the destruction to the re-establishment of Israel;
but this ninth chapter minutely predicts Christ's first coming... (Commentary
Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible — Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible
Commentary)

HAVE BEEN DECREED
- determined (KJV),
settled
(Berkley),
marked out (New English Bible),
commanded (TLB),
God has set (GNB),
weeks have been fixed (BBE),
assigned
(GWT),
God has ordered (NCV)

Decreed
(02852) (chathak/hatak)
means something determined. This verb is in the perfectmood which expresses a completed action. "God said it, so that settles it"
is the idea! The Hebrew root word basically means to "cut or divide", "to cut off"
and hence to decree or determine.

Our English word
decree means to give an order usually with the force of law. The 1828
Webster (speaking of the noun form) writes that a decree is a
"predetermined purpose of God; the purpose or determination of an immutable
Being, Whose plan of operations is, like Himself, unchangeable."

The picture conveyed
by chathak/hatak is of a settled decree by the LORD or Jehovah
(Jehovah is always identified by LORD in all caps in the NAS = which
distinguishes it from "Lord" = Adonai), the name Jehovah
emphasizing that He is the covenant keeping God. In fact, in Daniel
God's covenant name, Jehovah,
is used only in Daniel 9
(Da 9:2, 9:4, 9:10, 9:13, 9:14,
9:20). This passage speaking of what God determines will come to pass emphasizes
that He is sovereign and
in complete control of the history of His Chosen People (history is
"His-story"!). The SovereignOne has marked out, ordained or predetermined
a 490 year period that directly impacts the nation of Israel (and He does so without violating
Israel's free will which reminds us of God's attribute =
Incomprehensible)! Stated another way, it is as if God has "cut off" a
490 year segment of time and assigned it as the time during which He will bring about the deliverance and restoration of
Hispeople, Israel, and His holy city, Jerusalem. What
God prophesies, He fulfills and thus His
plan will be completed in each of the 6 specific predictions in this verse
(cp Is 43:13, 44:7, 45:21, 46:10).

The
Hebrew verb chathak/hatak is translated in the Greek Septuagint (LXX)
with the Greek verb suntemno
that means to cut short, to put a limit to something, to bring to an end or to accomplish speedily
(as in Ro 9:28). Figuratively, suntemno
means to decide, determine, decree (cp
the Eternal God's
perspective on time - Ps 90:4-note).

Gill also observes that the Hebrew verb chathak/hatak is especially apropos for

the word...to cut
aptly expresses the division, or section of these weeks into distinct
periods, as seven, sixty two, and one.

Jamieson adds that the meaning
is...

literally, "cut out," namely, from the
whole course of time, for God to deal in a particular manner with Jerusalem.
(Ed: And this 490 year period of dealing with the Jews was predicted in
Leviticus - see
Seven Times Seventy)

Barnes writes...

The meaning would seem to be, that this
portion of time — the seventy weeks — was “cut off” from the whole of
duration, or cut out of it, as it were, and set by itself for a definite
purpose. It does not mean that it was cut off from the time which the city
would naturally stand, or that this time was “abbreviated,” but that a
portion of time — to wit, four hundred and ninety years — was designated or
appointed with reference to the city, to accomplish the great and important
object which is immediately specified. A certain, definite period was fixed
on, and when this was past, the promised Messiah would come. (Barnes' Notes
on the Old Testament - Volume IX)

Ray observes that...

Daniel asks the Lord about ending the
exile, but His response looks to the future instead. That is not to say the
answer had nothing to do with his petitions. For example, the first triad of
phrases (Da 9:24) addresses the wording of Da 9:5, and the last three his
request of Da 9:7. (A
Study of Daniel 9:24 - 27 - Part I)

FOR YOUR PEOPLE AND YOUR HOLY CITY

Notice that just before Gabriel
interrupted Daniel's prayer he had specifically cried out...

O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord,
listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name. Now while I
was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people
Israel(Notice Daniel is not just praying for Judah but for all Israel),
and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God in behalf of the
holy mountain of my God (Which is in the holy city) (Da 9:19, 20)

And so Gabriel brings an answer that is
specifically related to your people and your holy city, which
leaves little doubt as to the identification of the two recipients of the
great prophecy - Israel and Jerusalem, not the church and the "new
Jerusalem"!

Your People - Recall that the one
announcing this prophecy is the angel Gabriel
(4x in Scripture - Da 8:16, 9:21, Lk 1:19, 26)
who addresses Daniel,
a Jew. It follows the phrase yourpeople refers to the Jews. If
one misses (or misinterprets) this important phrase (as for example "the
church" or "God's people in general"), the entire prophecy will make
absolutely no sense!

It is surprising that some scholars who
seem to be generally "conservative" (e.g., Young, Keil, Leupold)
interpret your people
symbolically (allegorically, spiritually) as a reference to so called "spiritual Israel", the church (which even
the New Testament says is not revealed in the Old Testament-- e.g., see Ep 3:1,2, 3-note,
Ep 3:4, 5-note,
Ep 3:6-note).

Ray comments that...

Men such as Keil, Leupold, and Young
believe “your people” refers to “spiritual Israel,” and “your holy
city” is the heavenly Jerusalem. Both are modified by “your”
because Daniel was praying for both and because he belonged to both. Again,
some logic-defying mistakes are made.

The text does not lend
itself to such a speculation.

This passage (Da 9:24-27) is the answer
to Daniel’s prayer, a prayer in which he was petitioning Yahweh about the
Jews and Jerusalem, not some entities unknown to him. In Da
10:14, “your people” clearly means Abraham’s descendants; nothing
else would make sense in that verse. The same reasoning applies to Da 11:14.
Indeed, how could a people destroy the heavenly Jerusalem (Da 9:26)? The
term “holy city” denotes literal Jerusalem in Neh 11:1,18; Is 48:2,
52:11; Mt. 4:5, 27:53, and possibly Rev 11:2) (A
Study of Daniel 9:24-27-Part 1)

If you begin the interpretation of what
has to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, prophecies of all
prophecies by misinterpreting to whom it is addressed, you are
destined to miss the great jewels of truth that lay hidden to an honest,
literal interpretation of this passage. For an excellent synopsis of the use
and dangers of allegorical interpretation see Dr Tony Garland's
articles (from his verse by verse study of the Revelation - which I highly
recommend =
A Testimony of Jesus Christ)...

"O my God, incline Thine ear and hear!
Open Thine eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called
by Thy name (God's glory is "at stake");

"O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord,
listen and take action! For Thine own sake, O my God, do not delay, because
Thy city and Thy people are called by Thy name (It was God's Name
that was "at stake" for the pagans associated God with His city and His
people)." (Da 9:19)

Similar to their incorrect allegorical interpretation
of your people, the same group of commentators (e.g., Young, Keil,
Leupold) interpret your holy city as a reference
to the heavenlyJerusalem (cp Re 21:2-note)
despite the fact that there is nothing stated in the immediate contextwhich
supports such an imaginative interpretation! This is why the wise Bible
student holds fast to the maxim that contextis always king in interpretation. No where is this maxim more
important to apply than in the interpretation of Biblical prophecies. As stated earlier, if the plain sense
of the passage makes good
sense, don't try to make some other sense or it's potentially nonsense!

By the time these 490 years run their
course, God will have accomplished all 6 predictions, and in fact all will be
literally realized by Israel at the Second Coming of Messiah (See Table comparing Rapture vs Second Coming)
when...

all Israel
will be saved; just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER (the Messiah) WILL COME FROM ZION, HE
WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB. AND THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN
I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS. (Ro 11:26, 27-see
notes)

At that time the elect
(chosen) of Israel (the remnant) will
recognize the Messiah and will repent and will turn to Him as their national
(and personal) Deliverer,
Savior and King. At this time Israel will be restored to the land
(a common phrase in the OT which most often refers to the "promised land" -
but always check the context) in
fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham (Ge 15:18 - a promise never
completely fulfilled but never revoked). Observe that in a sense the
final future restoration of Israel is the answer to Daniel’s prayer. ﻿

Walvoord observes that...

Even in ruins, Jerusalem remains the city
set apart in the heart of God (cf. Da 9:20) and Daniel shared this love for
the city which is central in God's program for His kingdom both in the past
and the future. Unlike the prophecies of Daniel 2, 7, and 8, which primarily
related to the Gentiles, this chapter is specifically God's program for the
people of Israel, as Daniel would obviously interpret it. To make this
equivalent to the church composed of both Jews and Gentiles is to read into
the passage something foreign to the whole thinking of Daniel. The church as
such has no relation to the city nor to the promises given specifically to
Israel relating to their restoration and repossession of the land.
(Daniel: The key to Prophetic Revelation
-- free online)

The first three (of the six infinitives)
have to do with sin and the last three with righteousness. The Lord would "finish
the transgression," that is, the transgression of the Jewish people, and
"make an end of" Israel's national sins.

This was one of the main burdens
of Daniel's prayer.

Israel was a scattered suffering nation
because she was a sinful nation. How would the Lord accomplish this? By
making "reconciliation (atonement) foriniquity,"
that is, by offering a sacrifice that would atone for their sin. Here we
come to the cross of Jesus Christ, Israel's Messiah. (Bible Exposition
Commentary - Old Testament)

Note that although the
six accomplishments listed in this verse are addressed primarily to Israel, clearly
all of humanity will
be radically impacted by the fulfillment, some to the eternal praise of the
glory of God's grace and some to eternal punishment away from the presence
of the Lord (cp Mt 25:41, Mt 7:21-note,
Mt 7:22, 23-note,
2Th 1:7, 8, 9, 10)

The idea is to bring the transgression of
"Thy people" and "Thy holy city" to a final stopping point
during or at the end of the 490 years.
Note that even after 70 years in captivity, the Jews had not repented and
become obedient to Jehovah and the Mosaic Covenant. Furthermore,

MacArthur writes that this phrase...

literally means "to restrain firmly the
transgression." Today sin expresses itself freely, but a day will come when
that will not be true (Ed Comment: Speaking in particular of the
nation of Israel, but to be generally true of the entire world in the
Millennial Kingdom). Jesus will rule with a rod of iron (Ps 2:6, 7, 8, 9)
and every expression of evil--"transgression"--will be immediately
restrained by His divine power. (Israel's
Future--Part 1)

S Lewis Johnson has an interesting
interpretation of this infinitive...

Israel’s rebellion against the Lord God
will be brought to an end with the four hundred and ninety years.... there
is an article with “transgression.” Thetransgression. It’s
almost as if there is anticipated in this the crucifixion of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ because that is “the transgression” of the children of
Israel.

Jamieson adds
that...

The seventy years exile (in Babylon) was
a punishment, but not a full atonement, for the sin of the people (Israel); this
would come only after seventy prophetic weeks, through Messiah. (See note on
Seven Times More)

Israel's rebellion as
a nation will be finally restrained at the
Second Coming of the Messiah
when a remnantwill turn to Him in faith and the nation’s transgression and sins will be
forgiven (see more detail in the related discussion below by Lehman Strauss).
And so the post-exilic prophet Zechariah records God's promise that when the Messiah returns
after the decreed 490 years...

it will come about in all the land
(of Israel)...that
two parts in it will be cut off (karath = same verb used in Da 9:26 to
describe the crucifixion of Messiah) and perish, but the third will be left
in it (the "elect" and believing remnant). And I will bring the third part through the fire,
refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will
call on My name, and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are My people,'
(a component of the New Covenant promised to Israel - see Jer 31:33, 32:38)
and they will say, 'The LORD is my God.' (Zech 13:8, 9)

Finish (03615) (kalah')
conveys the basic meaning of bringing a process to completion or
consummation (eg, creation Ge 2:1, 2, high priest's atoning for the holy
place Lev 16:20, referring to the spring harvest Ru 2:21, 23, Solomon
finishing the Temple 1Ki 6;14, to fulfill the word of Jehovah - 2Chr 36:22).
The Septuagint (LXX)uses the verb sunteleo which means to complete
something that has been in process, to finish it, to bring it to an end. In
context the idea is that the transgression of Israel and Judah will come to
an end when Messiah, their Deliverer, returns and saves all (the 1/3 of
Israel who is alive and who believes in Messiah at His Second Coming, cf
Zech 13:8,9).

Moses' illustrates the meaning
of kalah' describing the ending of the flood when

the fountains of
the deep and the floodgates of the sky were closed, and the rain from the
sky was restrained (kalah') (Ge 8:2).

For completeness, it should be noted that
there are two Hebrew verbs which are used to translate the phrase finish (click
explanation).

Transgression (06588) (pesha'
- word study')
means to rebel, revolt or to rise up in clear defiance to authority by
violation of a law, command, or duty. The fundamental idea is a breach of
relationship (civil or religious) between two parties. Pesha' speaks of
willful sins. And so the first item in God's program is to bring Israel's rebellion
against Him to an end.

is one of the three primary words for sin
in the OT. While sin is any act of offense against God, from willful
rebellion to unintentional sin, pesha' normally denotes intentional
disobedience, especially against God’s law. The prophecy of Amos makes this
clear, as he speaks out first against Judah (Amos 2:4 = transgressions) and
then against Israel (Amos 2:6 = transgressions). To the latter he declares,
“For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins. You oppress
the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of justice in the
courts” (Amos 5:12 = transgression). Committing pesha' may involve
social, political, or cultic acts and can occur on an interpersonal level
(e.g., Ex 22:9; Amos 5:12), a political level (1Ki 12:19), or a religious
level (Isa 1:2 = "revolted against"). In all occurrences of pesha' the
common thread is the breach of a covenant responsibility.To trespass God’s instruction
is to rebel against God. On
the annual Day of Atonement the pesha' of Israel is atoned (Lev
16:16, 21). (Mounce's
Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words )

Transgression
(pesha'
- word study)
in the present context speaks of a definite rebellion against (divine)
authority and was the same Hebrew word used
by Daniel in chapter 8 to describe the actions of the apostate Jews in the
days of Antiochus Epiphanes (see pesha' = transgression in Da 8:12,
13-note
where "host" refers to Jews, not stars or angels). Furthermore, the
grammatical construction used here in Daniel 9:24 suggests that a specific transgression was
intended (see note by Strauss below) and this seems to be a reference to the rebellion by Israel
specifically against God and His Word.

Isaiah
uses pesha' twice in his description of the Messiah in chapter
53 declaring that...

But He was pierced through for our
transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the
chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we
are healed. (Isa 53:5)

By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His
generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the
living, for the transgression of my people (Israel) to whom the
stroke was due? (Isa 53:8)

Showers adds
that

this
rebellion was the root sin which prompted all of Israel’s other sins.
Gabriel was saying that

Israel would not stop its rebellion against God’s
rule
until these 490 years would run their course.

In agreement with this,
other Scriptures indicate that Israel will not repent, turn to God and be
saved until the
Second Coming of the Messiahat the end of these 490 years
(Zech 12:10,11, 12, 13, 14, 13:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; Ro 11:25, 26, 27-note).
(The Most High God: Commentary on the Book of Daniel. Bellmawr, NJ: Friends
of Israel Gospel Ministry, Inc)

Lehman Strauss goes to some length to emphasize (correctly) that this first (actually all) of the six summary purposes for the
Seventy Sevens is
specifically directed towardIsrael ("your people" - which of course does negate
the application of this truth to Gentiles) noting that...

This (finish the transgression) was the first and most important item on the list. Keep in mind the
fact that this was a national "transgression" since the prophecy has to do
with Daniel's "people." Observe also that the definite article
(Ed: "the") appeared in
the text: "the transgression." The central theme in Daniel's prayer was the
transgression of his people, a transgression
which was to culminate in "the transgression." The word "transgression"
combines the idea of rejection and apostasy (Ed: "In classical
Greek, apostasy signified revolt from a military commander"), so that the transgression would
be Israel's final rejection of Messiah. The final putting away or
"finishing" this transgression is still future for the Jews.

While it is true that the
atonement (see esp
ISBE) of Christ is sufficient for the whole
world, Israel continues to reject Him and thereby remains even now in
disfavor with God. But when Christ comes to earth again, at the end of the
seventieth week, and the Jews are in their own land, they will recognize and
receive Him as their Messiah and shall experience the forgiveness and
cleansing which He alone can provide. In that day the people will (quote
Isaiah 53:4, 5,6).

God said

"And it shall come to pass in that day (Ed: What
day?
The Second Coming
and specifically Rev 19:11-21-see
notes), that I will seek to
destroy all the nations (~Gentiles) that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon
the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of
grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me Whom they have
pierced (So Who is speaking?), and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for his only son, and
shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his
firstborn.... In that day (same day as above) there shall be a fountain opened to the house of
David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness"
(Zech 12:9, 10; 13:1).

(EDITORIAL
COMMENT: Note that the Messiah
is qualified to be Israel's Redeemer because He has made atonement for their
iniquity = "Infinitive #3". They must still receive by grace through faith
His redemption - 2/3's of Israel will refuse His gracious offer while
1/3 will receive Him and "come through the fire" so to speak - see Zech
13:8, 9.)

The expression to finish is derived from the piel verb form of the root kālâ
meaning “to finish” in the sense of bringing to an end.
The most obvious meaning is that Israel's course of apostasyand sin and
wandering over the face of the earth will be brought to completion within
the seventy sevens. The restoration of Israel which Daniel sought in his
prayer would ultimately have its fulfillment in this concept. (Daniel: The key to Prophetic Revelation
-- online)

In regard to the
phrase finish
the transgression in Daniel 9:24, the New American Commentary
(Daniel: Broadman & Holman Publishers) has this note

Most
authorities (eg KJV, NASB, NIV), taking the qere reading, have understood the Hebrew
verb in this first phrase as kālâ, “﻿be complete, at an end,
finished, accomplished, spent.﻿” Others (e.g., kethiv,
Wood, Young) have taken the word to be kālā, “﻿shut
up, restrain, withhold.﻿”﻿﻿ If the latter is correct,
the idea could be that transgression is not completely stopped but
lessened. Yet it could also mean that transgression is restrained
completely, at least for a time. Thus the meaning would be very similar to
that of kālâ.

Comment:
This is a somewhat technical note on Kethiv versus Qere {explained below}
in Daniel 9:24. Keep in mind that in copying the Hebrew Bible,
the scribes did not alter any text they felt had been copied incorrectly.
In the Masoretic Text they noted in the margin what they thought the
written text should be and this was designated a Kethiv
(or Kethib or Ketib) which
literally means "what is written" and the marginal note is
called the Qere (Kere) an anglicized Aramaic word
which means "what is read". Until the time of the Masoretes, the
Hebrew Bible was written only with consonants. The Masoretes
(the name of the scholars whose work it was to maintain the tradition
which governed the production of copies of the biblical text, referred to
as the Masoretic Text) thought that vowels would clarify the
Scriptures and therefore began to copy the Hebrew texts with the
addition of vowels. When they
came across a word they thought was unclear by its normal vowels, they
would put the word in the margin with other vowels, changing the
meaning or intent. The word that was written in the text was called
the Kethiv and what was to be read was
called the Qere which
represented the variant marginal reading. There are about 1300 instances
of Kethiv-Qere in the Masoretic Text. This note would lead a
person reading the text to pronounce the Qere rather than
the Kethiv. Qere readings were intended either
to correct the Kethiv or to preserve variant
manuscript traditions. Now
are you totally confused?

To reiterate, the main idea of finish
transgression as discussed is
that Israel's transgression against God will end at the
Second Coming of Christ and only
those Jews (and Gentiles) who are genuine believers in the Messiah will enter
into the Messianic Kingdom on earth. Note that although peace and
righteousness will be the order in the Christ's
MillennialKingdom, at the
end of this 1000 years there will be a brief time of final rebellion which
John describes in Revelation 20...

And when the thousand years are
completed, Satan will be released from his prison,
8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of
the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of
them is like the sand of the seashore (those who have been born during the
Millennium).
9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp
of the saints and the beloved city (Jerusalem), and fire came down from
heaven and devoured them. (presumably they go to Hades and will be shortly
judged at the Great White Throne, Rev 20:11, 12, 13, 14, 15 -note)
10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and
brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be
tormented day and night forever and ever. (see Rev 20:7-note;
Re 20:8-note;
Re 20:9-note;
Re 20:10-note)

Comment: See the notes on the
Revelation for a more detailed discussion. In short, observe that (1) this
rebellion is at the end of the 1000 years, (2) that Satan has been bound,
and (3) that men and women who are sinners have been born to the original
inhabitants of the Messianic Kingdom all of whom were believers. This is one
of the most incredible teachings in the Bible in my opinion, because it
leaves no doubt that Adam's seed infects all (Ro 5:12-note)
and we do not need the devil to deceive us and cause us to be unbelievers as
testified by the numerical estimate of "like the sand of the seashore"! It
is almost beyond comprehension to realize that the Messiah Himself if
reigning on earth and nevertheless these men and women refuse to believe in
Him!

To reiterate, note that the first three "infinitives" in Daniel 9:24
deal with
sin of Israel. (transgression, sin, iniquity).

MacArthur feels that to make an end of sin means to judge sin
with finality as described in Hebrews 9:26-note
where Jesus "has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of
Himself".

Make an end (08552)
(tamam) basically means to restrict the flow or
movement of (see this sense illustrated in Ge 8:2) or to interrupt what is in progress or would naturally be in
progress (in this case Israel's committing of individual "sins").
The basic meaning of tamam speaks of completeness, of being complete or
finished, with nothing else expected or intended. The idea is to bring
something to closure (e.g., 1Ki 6:22 = a building project) or to a successful end.

So the idea of to make an end of sin
is to bring (Israel's) sins under full restraint (as will occur when all
Israel is saved at the end of the
Great Tribulation punctuated by the return
of the Messiah - Rev 19:11-21-note) Thus only
redeemed, regenerate, born again Jewish men and women will enter the Messianic Kingdom
(Millennial
Kingdom) and
although they will not be perfect (they are not yet glorified), because they are all saved, they will
demonstrate restraint of sins (cp Ezek 36:26, 27 - the Spirit will give them
the power to say "no" to sins).

Daniel uses this same verb in the fifth
"infinitive" statement "to seal up (tamam) vision and prophecy."

(1) Daniel 11:36 where "he will
prosper until the indignation is finished" refers to the Antichrist and the
indignation is synonymous with the
Great Tribulation

(2) Daniel 12:7 where "finish shattering the power of the holy
people" refers to the end of the time of Jacob's distress (Jer 30:7, 8,
9) or the
Great Tribulation.

In short, this "infinitival" statement is saying that
sins will be controlled during the Millennium and cease completely during
the succeeding eternal state in the New Heaven and New Earth. (Re
21:1, 2-note,
Re 21:8-note,
Re 22:15-note). The Millenniumwill be characterized by a "sealing up" of sin indicating that among the
citizens of the Millennium,
sin will be rare and judgment for wrongdoing will be swift and just (see
Walvoord's comments below).

Sin
(02403)
(chattat/chattath
- word study) describes a missing of the mark or a falling short of the
God's perfect standard of righteousness (see literal use Jdg 20:16 - "miss"). Contrast
the previous Hebrew word for transgression (pesha) which signifies
willful revolt
against the divine standard.

When will God make an end of sin
in regard to Israel? The prophet Zechariah refers to the return of Messiah
declaring...

In that day
(of the
Second Coming) a fountain will
be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem
(Observe the "Jewish" flavor of this passage) , for sin
(02403
= chata) and for impurity (figurative usage of the more literal
meaning of a woman's menstrual flow of blood). It will come about in that day,"
declares the LORD of hosts, "that I will cut off the names of the idols from
the land (Promised Land)
(Contrary to what many teach, it looks like idolatry persists in Israel
until the very end of the age!), and they will no longer be remembered; and
I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. (Zech
13:1, 2)

Strauss comments
that to make an end of sin will take place...

When God puts a new Spirit within His
people (Israel), He will "shut up" or "seal up" her sins so that they will
not break forth again (Ezekiel 36:26, 27).

"Neither shall they defile themselves any
more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of
their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling-places,
wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be My people,
and I will be their God" (Ezekiel 37:23).

"By this therefore shall the iniquity of
Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin" (Isaiah
27:9).

"For this is My covenant unto them, when
I shall take away their sins" (Romans 11:27).

During Christ's reign on earth, which
follows immediately after the seventieth week, the devil himself is "shut
up" or sealed in the bottomless pit (Revelation 20:1, 2, 3). In that day sin
will have run its course in Israel and will be locked up, never to do its
evil work again. Thank God for that coming day when sin shall not break
forth again. (Ibid)

Just as in the first case (“to finish
transgression”), this prophecy cannot be fulfilled in any real sense until
Christ personally returns to earth. Sin will be controlled during the
millennium and cease completely during the eternal state. The future kingdom
of God includes both periods.

Ezekiel records that when Christ returns
and inaugurates His New Covenant with Israel, they

will no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their
detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver
them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and
will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God.
(Ezekiel 37:23)

At the termination of these 490 years God adds

Moreover,
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will
remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And
I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My
statutes, (God's empowerment and enablement) and you will be
careful to observe My ordinances (Israel's responsibility).
(Ezekiel 36:26, 27)

At that time, the Jews entering the Millennial Kingdom
with a "new heart" will have the supernatural "power" to restrain their sins
in everyday life. Matthew had prophesied that a virgin named Mary would

bear
a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His
people from their sins. (Mt 1:21)

Other Translations: to make reconciliation for iniquity (KJV, NKJV), to atone for
wickedness (NIV), to cover iniquity (Young's Literal), to
make expiation for iniquity (Darby), "To seal up or shut sins in prison"

Make atonement(03722)
(kapar
- detailed word study= related word
[03725]
kippur/kippurim gives us "Yom Kippur" or Jewish Day of Atonement)
is a verb that has reference to sin and means
to cover or make a covering, This clearly points to the
Crucifixion of Christ as the event that made atonement for Israel's (and all
mankind's) iniquity. While the once and for all time sacrifice of the Lamb
of God on Calvary (Jn 1:29) is a past historical event,
there will be a time in the future when the believing remnantof Israel will appropriate
(by grace through faith - cf Zech 12:10)
the finished work of Christ.

Andrew Trotter - That the Bible's central message is
atonement, that is, that God has provided a way for humankind to come
back into harmonious relation with Him, is everywhere apparent in Scripture.
From the first stories in Genesis to the last visions of Revelation, God
seeks to reconcile His people to Himself. (See
full article on atonement - Baker's Evangelical Dictionary)

William Owen Carver writes that...

However much theologians may disagree as
to the rationale of the Atonement, there is, as there can be, no question
that Jesus and all His interpreters in the New Testament represent the
Atonement between God and men as somehow accomplished through Jesus Christ.
It is also an agreed fact in exegesis that Jesus and His apostles understood
His death to be radically connected with this Atonement. (International
Standard Bible Encyclopedia)

Driver adds that kaphar means...

to make...as harmless, non-existent, or
inoperative, to annul (so far as God's notice or regard is concerned), to
withdraw from God's sight, with the attached ideas of reinstating in His
favour, freeing from sin, and restoring to holiness. (Driver, S R: A
Dictionary of the Bible)

In short, the idea is to cover sin by
making a sacrifice.

Keil says the form of the verb
indicates that it means "to cover so thoroughly that the sin is
obliterated."

Kaphar is used in most of the OT with the theological meaning
of to “cover over”, usually with the blood of a sacrifice, and thus
covering over sin in order to atone for sin (make reparation, amends
or satisfaction for an offense or a crime, by which reconciliation is
procured between the offended and offending parties). This symbolism is
drawn from the OT sacrificial system in which the blood was sprinkled over
the mercy seat in the temple, depicting that the sin of the people was
forgiven because it was covered by the blood (cf. Lev 16:15, 16) (See much
more detailed study on
kapar)

Iniquity (05771)
('avon) expresses the concept of to bend, twist or distort and in
this context refers a twisting of the standard or deviation from it.
It is behavior that is perverted, and thus indicates that genre of sin which
deviates from God’s righteous design. Two times in his great prayer Daniel
had used 'avon - (1) Da 9:13 ("yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD
our God by turning from our iniquity" - i.e., they had not repented
of their 'avon!) (2) Da 9:16 ("iniquities of our fathers")

On the Day of Atonement In the Old
Testament sacrificial system the blood of a sacrificial goat was sprinkled
upon the mercy seat overlying the ark of the covenant in the holy of holies,
symbolically depicting that the sins of the people were atoned for or
covered by the blood of the animal. In Leviticus we read that

"on exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of
atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your
souls and present an offering by fire to the LORD. Neither shall you do any
work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement (kippur), to
makeatonement (kaphar) on your behalf
before the LORD your God." (Lev 23:27, 28)

Moses
describing the actions of the Jewish High Priest on the annual

Day of Atonement records that "he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is
for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil, and do with its blood
as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and
in front of the mercy seat. And he shall make atonement for the holy
place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel, and because
of their transgressions, in regard to all their sins; and thus
he shall do for the tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of
their impurities." (Lev 16:15, 16).

In the New Testament parallel passages we read that
Jesus

had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might
become a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to
make propitiation (an appeasing sacrifice which was the Perfect
fulfillment to which all the OT sacrifices had pointed) for the sins of
the people. (He 2:17-note)

Paul adds of Christ that

God displayed (Him)
publicly (before the eyes of all) as a propitiation (to render
God propitious to us or disposed to be gracious or merciful; ready to
forgive sins and bestow blessings) in His blood through faith. This was
to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He
passed over the sins previously committed (Ro 3:25-note)

John adds that Jesus

Himself is the propitiation (the atoning
sacrifice offered once for all time to God to assuage His wrath and render
Him propitious to sinners) for our sins; and not for ours only, but also
for those of the whole world. (1Jn 2:2)

Jesus,
Messiah the Prince, made His atonement available for the sin of Israel when He died on the
Cross, but the efficacy of His atonement will not actually be
realized by Israel as a nation until the individual Jews in Israel personally appropriate
God's gracious gift by receiving
Jesus as their Messiah, Redeemer and Savior. When will this great event
occur?

In Hosea God says...

I will go away and return to My place
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their affliction
(What affliction?
In a general sense affliction is one of God's ways to drive us to seek Him.
In a more specific sense regarding Israel, the affliction surely speaks of
the coming time of Jacob's distress Jer 30:7 synonymous with the Great Tribulation
Mt 24:21) they will earnestly
seek Me (Genuine Repentance - cf Hos 6:1,2, 3). (Hos 5:15) (compare with Jesus'
words in Mt 23:39)

Henry Morris comments: Because of
the sin of both Israel and Judah, God will "go away" (Hosea 5:14). When
Israel finally acknowledges her great offense in rejecting Messiah, then He
will return and establish His kingdom in Jerusalem (Ps 110:1, 2,3; Mt 23:39;
Zech 12:10, 13:1). (Morris,
Henry: Defenders Study Bible. World Publishing)

Leon Wood comments: The language
would appear to reach into the Millennium, when the Israelites will indeed
repent before God and seek his face (cf. Hos 1:10,11; 2:14-23).”

In Jeremiah we read...

Alas! for that day is great, There is
none like it; and it is the time of Jacob's distress, but he will be
saved from it. (Jeremiah 30:7)

Paul writes

All Israel will be saved" when "THE DELIVERER
WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB" (Ro 11:26-note)

This event will not transpire until the
490 years that have been decreed
have run their full course. In the intervening period (the so called "church
age") leading up to the termination of the 490 years, Daniel's Seventieth Week, the so-called "Tribulation", individual Jews
have received and will continue to receive Jesus as their Great High Priest
Who has finished His work of atonement on their behalf. Praise the
Lord for the increasing number of Jews who are turning to their Messiah and
Redeemer as we draw nearer and nearer to the end of the age punctuated by
His glorious return as King. Gentile believers must therefore remember and practice Paul's
affirmation...

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for
it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew
first and also to the Greek. (See noteRomans 1:16)

May God grant
that many Jews seek the Way, the Truth and the Life, be drawn to Daniel 9:24-27, have the eyes enlightened
and their hearts and mind opened by the Holy Spirit to the truth
that their Messiah has come as the perfect sacrificial Lamb (Jn 1:29), once for all
time, and may they by
grace through faith be saved to the glory of the
ever compassionate God Who has prepared His
marvelous plan of salvation for Jews and Gentiles alike even before the
foundation of the world. "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus" (Rev 22:20)

People cannot make themselves righteous
or establish the kingdom; that is God’s doing. Indeed, Daniel had earlier
prayed, “Righteousness belongs to Thee, O Lord..” (Da 9:7). “The
essential idea in the language is, that this would be introduced by the
Messiah [by His appearance and being cut off- Da 9:25, 26]; that is, that He would be its author.” (A
Study of Daniel 9:24-27-Part II)

This divine purpose points to the justice
and peace of the new order which will prevail in the Millennium inaugurated
by Christ's return, when man (and in context especially applicable to "your
people" = Israel) will be put in right (righteousness) relationship
with God.

Isaiah records...

Then all your people will be righteous;
They will possess the land forever, The branch of My planting, The work of
My hands, That I may be glorified. (Isaiah 60:21)

set human life into
thorough accord with Jehovah's will and law, induce a condition of moral
rectitude, which thence forward shall never again be interrupted, but endure
for all the ages. (Ref)

In Isaiah "the Mighty One of Israel"
(Is 1:24)
offered this same prophetic hope (mercy) to Israel even in the midst of His
righteous wrath (Is 1:25)...

Then I will restore your judges as at the
first, and your counselors as at the beginning; After that you (Jerusalem in
the Millennium) will be
called the city of righteousness, a faithful city. (Isaiah
1:26-note)

To bring in (0935)
means literally "to cause to come in" and as Barnes notes "refers to some direct
agency by which righteousness would be introduced into the world." There is
a sense in which this was accomplished by Christ in His first coming,
providing the righteous ground by which God would justify (declare
righteous) a believing sinner. The complete fulfillment in regard to Israel
however awaits the return of
the Righteous One, Who

will
crush and put an end to all these kingdoms (including the final
unrighteous Gentile
world power headed by the Antichrist), but it (Messiah's righteous kingdom) will itself endure forever. (everlasting) (Da
2:44)

Then the sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the
kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of
the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the
dominions will serve and obey Him. (Da 7:27)

God promised through His prophet
Jeremiah (who promised hope while the nation was yet in a hopeless condition
in Babylon) that

days are coming...when I will fulfill the
good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house
of Judah (some of that "good word" is promised here in Daniel 9:24-27). In
those days and at that time (at the end of the 490 years) I will
cause (emphasizing that God is sovereign and in total control of
history) a righteousBranch of David (Messiah the Prince)
to spring forth (cf Rev 19:11, 12, 13, 14, 15); and He shall execute justice and righteousness on
the earth (cf 2Th 2:8). In those days Judah
shall be saved (At the termination of the 490 years of Daniel 9 - see Ro
11:26, 27-note), and Jerusalem (referring to "your people and your
holy city") shall dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she
(referring to Jerusalem who will take on the same righteous character as the
Messiah Who dwells within her) shall be called: the LORD is our
righteousness.’ (Jer 33:14, 15, 16).

Everlasting (05769)
(olam) means forever, eternity, i.e., pertaining to an
unlimited duration of time, usually with a focus on the future.

The Amplified Bible serves as a
"mini" commentary adding that the seventy sevens will...

bring in everlasting righteousness
(permanent moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation)

Righteousness (06664)
(tsedeq) is a root which basically connotes conformity to an
ethical or moral standard. The idea is of doing what is required according
to a standard.

Messianic passages in the OT envision
righteousness as being applied to the earth at the time of the
Second Coming of the Messiah (Millennium).

Jeremiah for example writes

Behold, the days are coming," declares
the LORD, "When I shall raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He
will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in
the land. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely;
And this is His name by which He will be called, 'The LORD our
righteousness.' (Jer 23:5, 6)

Comment: Compare other passages
which picture the righteous character of the Messianic kingdom -- Je 33:15,
16, 17, 18.

At Messiah's return the "elect" in Israel will believe
in the Messiah and will receive
His righteousness by faith and will be enabled by virtue of their New
Covenant relationship (promised initially to Israel during Babylonian
captivity - see Jer 31:31, 32, 33, 34, compare Ezek 36:26, 27 = new heart,
etc = to be fulfilled when Israel enters new covenant) to
live in a right (righteous) relationship with God, according to His
good and acceptable and perfect will.
Messiah's return will usher in the promised and long awaited Messianic Kingdom
(Millennial Kingdom) which will be characterized by righteousness. Isaiah
describing Messiah's reign declared that

with righteousness He
will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the
earth; and He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the
breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also righteousness will
be the belt about His loins, and faithfulness the belt about His waist."
(Isa 11:4, 5)

Peter writes that

according to His promise (one of those promises
being found here in Daniel 9:24) we are looking for new
heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells." (2Pe
2:13-note)

Comment: This passage indicates
that the righteousness will be an everlasting righteousness which will
begin in the 1000 year reign of Messiah on earth and continue into eternity in the New
Heaven and New Earth, the age that follows the Messianic age.

(5)
TO SEAL UP VISION AND PROPHECY:
(Mt 11:13; Lk 24:25, 26, 27,44,45; Jn 19:28, 29, 30) (Acts 3:22) - to
put a seal on a prophet’s vision (GWT), to make the vision and prophecy come
true (International Children's Bible), so that the vision and the prophecy
will come true (TEV), vision and prophecy may be fulfilled (Darby), to put a
seal on a prophet's vision (GWT), to confirm the prophetic vision (NLT)

Walvoord writes
that ...

The fifth aspect of the program, to seal
up the vision and prophecy, is probably best understood to mean the
termination of unusual direct revelation by means of vision and oral
prophecy. The expression to seal up indicates that no more is to be added
and that what has been predicted will receive divine confirmation and
recognition in the form of actual fulfillment. Once a letter is sealed, its
contents are irreversible (cf. Da 6:8). (Ibid)

Wiersbe feels that...

When Jesus returns...in that day, the Old
Testament prophecies of Israel's glorious kingdom will be fulfilled, and
there will be no need for visions or prophets. (Ibid)

John Whitcomb explains that

Since Christ, in all His glory, will be present with His people, there will
be no further need for visions and prophecies. Similarly, in the
post-apostolic phase of church history, we have no further need of such
min­istries, possessing as we do the completed revelation of God in Holy
Scripture. During the first half of the Seventieth Week
of Daniel two witnesses will prophesy to Israel... (Rev 11:3-note,
Rev 11:4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12-note).
But all such prophetic ministries will end forever at our Lord's return to
earth. (Daniel, Everyman's Bible Commentary)

I agree with
the interpretation that this phrase conveys the truth that no more
revelation is needed once the Sun (Son) of Righteousness arises with healing
in His wings (Mal 4:2).

As Campbell says...

an age in which there
is everlasting righteousness, the fulfillment of all prophecy, and the
presence of a restored temple must be future. History knows no such age.
This age coincides with what the Scriptures elsewhere predict about
conditions that will prevail when Christ returns.

Seal up(02856)
(chatham/hatam
- word study) means to set a seal on, to close. It indicates the
act of affixing an impression to serve as a seal on something, then sealing
it up as well. It can mean to stop, hinder, i.e., stop an event as a
figurative extension of sealing up a document.

NIDOTT notes
that...

Sealing was a means of closing something
from interference, authoritatively when the royal seal was applied, as at
the lions’ den, only to be opened at the royal command (Da 6:17), and in the
metaphor of God’s punishment stored as poisonous wine in his cellar (Dt
32:34). What is sealed may be taken as ended, so sins are sealed (Dan 9:24),
and sealed in a bag, not to be reopened (Job 14:17). (VanGemeren, W. New
International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis 2:324. Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House)

Some have interpreted
the phrase (seal up) to suggest that prophecy is to be sealed up and
be kept silent
through the 490 year period (Keil), but even common sense does not support
this interpretation. On the other hand, the legitimate interpretation of this phrase
varies somewhat among conservative scholars, in part because there are 2
Hebrew verbs depending on the manuscript one favors. The NASB and KJV
translate the manuscript with the Hebrew verb (chatham) for seal
up, and can mean to authenticate a document (as when one
finishes a letter and stamps it with a personal seal) or to seal it up and make it securely
enclosed under the seal. This action therefore seems to have a two fold
purpose of authenticating (the prophecy will be shown to be true and will be
completely fulfilled) and of bringing prophecy to a close for when the
prophecy is fulfilled and Messiah has returned after the 490 years, there
will no no longer be needed for vision and prophecy.

Ray adds
that...

In the ancient world, a seal, usually of
wax, kept a scroll closed, and signified ownership, authenticity, and
security. Much like a letter today, it was unlawful for anyone to open it
(break the seal) except the person to whom it was addressed. However, the
nuances of this term cannot be captured in a simple sentence for it is a
multifaceted gem.

The implications of this phrase may include all of the following:

(1) God will put His seal of
authentication on all true revelations,
(2) These forms of revelation will cease,
(3) Prophecies will be fulfilled, and
(4) Nothing else is to be added to His plans and revelations (as implied by
the seal).[12]

When Christ comes back,
there will be no more need
for visions and prophecies.

Feinberg elaborates,

the thought was to seal up the prophecy
and make a permanent record of it, so that when it is fulfilled the event
can be compared to the prophecy to show how completely the one corresponds
to the other. [Charles Feinberg, A Commentary on Daniel, p. 128]

As a side note, since this sealing up
won’t come to pass until the kingdom is established, Daniel 9:24-27 by
necessity involves both advents. [Stephen R. Miller, Daniel. New American
Commentary, p. 261]

Wood remarks,

The premillennial view…sees the relation
between the response of God to Daniel’s prayer as follows: that, whereas
Daniel had been concerned regarding an early return of the Jews from their
captivity to Babylon, God was interested in, first, their deliverance from a
far more serious bondage to sin (which had caused their Babylonian
captivity) through Christ’s work at His first coming and, second, their
final release from earthly oppression through the power of Christ at His
second coming. [Leon Wood, A Commentary on Daniel, p. 244] (A
Study of Daniel 9:24-27 - Part 2I)

Prophecy (05030)
(nabiy) is the word for one who speaks or proclaims the message of a
deity (1Sa 3:20, 1Ki 18:20, La 2:14).

To reiterate the point
of this infinitival statement is to make clear that no more revelation is
needed once Christ comes back (cf God's final Word was when He spoke in His
Son = Heb 1:1, 2-note)

Charles Feinberg adds that the idea is

to giving the seal of confirmation to Daniel and his vision by fulfilling
his predictions. In Isaiah 8:16, this phrase meant that the prophecy was
complete, and the command was given to bind it up, to roll it up like a
scroll and seal it. Again, in Daniel 8:26 the thought was to seal up the
prophecy and make a permanent record of it, so that when it is fulfilled the
event can be compared to the prophecy to show how completely the one
corresponds to the other.

To anoint the most holy place - More literally the Hebrew
reads anoint "the holy of holies". As discussed below most interpret
this as the Holy Temple which will be rebuilt in the Millennium. It could
hardly refer to the eternal state, for there will be no temple (Rev 21:22-note).

Recall Daniel's specific petition...

So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his
supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your
desolatesanctuary (miqdash
from qodesh). (Da 9:17)

Comment: It would be reasonable to consider the anointing of the holy
place as God's specific answer to this petition, for when the Messiah
returns and takes His rightful place on His throne in the Holy Place (which
the Antichrist had just attempted to usurp - cf 2Th 2:3,4), surely God's
face will smile on the Holy of holies!

Anoint (04886)
(mashach which is related to Mashiach [see
note] the word which is
transliterated into English as Messiah, "the anointed One") conveys the basic meaning of to smear something on. The OT
uses of anointing included the setting apart for office or function and thus
to consecrate.

Holy (06944)
(qodes or qodesh) is a noun which identifies that which has
been consecrated and set aside to be used only for sacred purposes. That
which was qodesh was not to be put to common use lest it become
profaned and rendered "not holy". Qodesh is used some 468 times in 382
verses in the KJV and is translated as -- holy 262, sanctuary 68, (holy,
hallowed,...) things 52, most 44, holiness 30, dedicated 5, hallowed 3,
consecrated 1. Notice that 68 times qodesh refers to the Holy Sanctuary.

The word place is in italics in
the NAS, indicating (in NAS, KJV, NKJV but not in the ESV) that it has been added by the translators.
In other words the original Hebrew text literally reads anoint the holy of holies
with no word for "place".
The added word place assumes this to be a
reference to a place rather than to a person (such as "holyone"). The Septuagint (LXX = Greek translation of the Hebrew)supports the interpretation as referring to a
place,
translating the Hebrew with the Greek phrase holy of holies,
which is interpreted most naturally as a reference to the inner sanctuary of
the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Elsewhere in the
OT, this phrase most holy
is used (37 of 39 occurrences - see also comment by Dr Ray below) as a description of a place or an object
and not a person, which is further support that the text is referring to
anointing of the holy place in the Temple and not to the Holy One, Who, the
Messiah.

Ray adds that...

Each of the 39 occurrences of qödeš
qodäšîm ("most holy") pertains to the Tabernacle, Temple (specifically
the Holy of Holies), or the things in the Temple. Those things include the
altar (Ex 29:37), holy incense (Ex 30:36), the showbread (Lev 24:9), and
even a sin offering (Lev 6:18). A reasonable deduction from that fact is “a
most holy” is the Temple. The allusion is not likely to be the Holy of
Holies proper because that term almost always has the article with it...In
what sense will it be anointed?
Probably by the presence of the Messiah (Hag 2:7, 8, 9). In the OT, only
God’s Shekinah Glory (see notes) is
said to fill the Temple. The Messiah’s presence gives the Temple “a
sacredness to that edifice which nothing else did give or could give, and,
therefore, as meeting all the proper force of the language used here.”
(Barnes OT Notes) (A
Study of Daniel 9:24-27 - Part II)

At the end of the 490 years, the
holy of holies in the Temple on Temple Mount in Jerusalem will be
anointed once again for God’s service (cf other prophecies of the
future Temple - Joel 3:18, Is 60:7, Jer 33:20, 21, 22, Ezek 37:26, 27, 28).

The prophet Ezekiel records
that the Temple will be
rebuilt and this will occur during the time immediately following the
Second Coming of Christ, commonly referred to as the Millennial (1000 year),
when Messiah will reign for 1000 years on earth (Ezek
40-48). This 1000 year period is based primarily on the repeated
phrase 1000 years (6 times) in Revelation 20. Many who refuse to interpret
the Scriptures literally (where that interpretation is quite reasonable),
take the 1000 years as symbolic, an interpretation generally referred to as
amillennial. It is interesting that many of those who hold this position,
also hold the position that God is finished with Israel and that the
promises made to Israel in the OT have been "defaulted" to the Church. They
base this specious interpretation on a misinterpretation of Galatians 6:16
(see discussion of the phrase Israel of God).
Those who assume this non-literal interpretation, not surprisingly have
considerable difficulty interpreting the book of the Revelation, which if
taken literally, chronicles the final dealing of God with His chosen people
Israel. It is little wonder (and very sad) that there are such a plethora of
confusing interpretations on the great book of the Revelation.

Ezekiel records that (after the 490 years are completed)

the
glory of the God of Israel (Shekinah Glory -
see study on
The Glory of the LORD)
) was coming from the way of the east (which retraces the departure
of the glory of the LORD as recorded by Ezekiel - Ezek 9:3, 10:4, 18, 19,
11:23, this last location being the Mount of Olives, directly east of
the Eastern Gate and the Holy of holies on Temple Mount). And
His voice was like the sound of many waters (cp John's description of the
glorified Jesus in Re 1:15-note); and the earth shone with His
glory (cp Hab 2:14). And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, like the
vision which I saw when He came to destroy the city. And the visions were
like the vision which I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face. And
the glory of the Lord came into the house (the Holy Temple) by the way of the gate facing
toward the east (if you visit Jerusalem today, the Eastern Gate is bricked
shut, but one day in the future it will be opened again to welcome the
return of the Messiah to His holy place!). And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner
court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house (the
Millennial Temple). Then I heard one speaking to me from the house, while a
man was standing beside me. And He (Messiah is speaking) said to me, "Son of
man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet,
where I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever.... (Ezek 43:2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7)

Pfeiffer notes that

Most commentators, even many
Amillennialists (those who do note accept a literal 1000 year reign of
Messiah on earth) (see related topic: Millennium),
to whom this passage is somewhat of an embarrassment, feel that this refers
to a renewed Temple, anointed like the Tabernacle of old....
(Pfeiffer,
C F: Wycliffe Bible Commentary. 1981. MoodyorLogos)

Not everyone agrees that holy place
precludes the idea of holy person, Mills for example writing
that...

The superlative construction translated
‘﻿the most holy’ is literally ‘﻿holy of holy,’ and while it is frequently
interpreted as meaning the holy place (in the temple), this is not
necessarily correct. The noun’s basic idea is to express the nuance of
soundness, wholeness; the Old Testament uses it of God, of places, of
things, of times and of persons, and it is particularly used of the altar.
However, as the preceding parts of God’s program refer to the eternal state,
it seems unlikely that this clause returns to the mundane and temporal; I am
thus persuaded that this clause refers to the Most Holy person, the Lamb of
God (Revelation 5) Who will be anointed God’s eternal prince, the King of
Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev 19:16), for in the eternal state there will be
no temple and thus no altar (Rev 21:22). (Mills, M. Daniel: A Study Guide to
the Book of Daniel. Dallas: 3E Ministries)

Beware that some commentaries put forward
the misleading interpretation that the holy place refers to the
consecration of the church at the end of the age (Keil). To reiterate, the
intended recipient of this prophecy is not the church but "your people",
the nation of Israel, a fact which should silence all such spurious
spiritualization.

Augustus Seiss, was born into a family
that worshipped in the Moravian denomination, and later joined the Lutheran
Church in which he became a pastor despite having very minimal formal
theological education. His commentary on the book the Revelation, entitled "The
Apocalypse" (The
Apocalypse: Lectures on the Book of Revelation), is one of the best old commentaries available as he
held generally to a literal interpretation of the Scriptures. He also
published lectures on Daniel in which he offered a somewhat novel
interpretation of the phrase "to anoint the most holy"...

To anoint — consecrate, put into
place and effectiveness—"a holiness of holinesses" which is the
literal sense of the words in this last clause. It has been applied to the
baptism or christening of Jesus, to the rededication of the temple and to
various other things, one as impossible as the other if the actual wording
and connection is adequately observed. It can refer to nothing less than the
completed outcome of the redemptive administrations as a whole—the ultimate
result and crown of grace and providence, of which all the prophets speak.
Zechariah sings of this " holiness of holinesses " where he says,

In that
day there shall be upon the bells [or bridles] of the horses, Holiness Unto
The Lord ; and the pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before
the altar; yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judea shall be holiness unto
the Lord of hosts. (Zech. 14:20, 21 cf also Isa. 11:4, 5, 6,7, 8, 9)

It is not the
consecration of a person, an altar or a house, but the consecration of the
whole nation and of everything pertaining to them. Everything promised,
prophesied or ever to be hoped for Israel is thus summed up in what these
seventy sevens are to bring. It is said by the angel that they reach to "
the consummation," and hence to the fulfilment of all Scripture and
prophecy, otherwise called " the regeneration," " the restitution of all
things." (Voices
from Babylon or, The records of Daniel)

Everything promised, prophesied or ever
to be hoped for Israel is thus summed up in what these seventy sevens are to
bring.

Richison sums up this introductory
verse writing that...

God will accomplish these six things in
anticipation of the Millennial kingdom. These things summarize God’s program
to be true to His unconditional covenants such as the Abrahamic Covenant
(see Abrahamic versus Mosaic),
the Davidic Covenant and the New Covenant (see New Covenant in the Old Testamentor Why the New is Better
or Covenant: Abrahamic vs Old vs New).
God already fulfilled some of these purposes. God will complete His program
for these six purposes when the 490 years run their course. This program
involves: (1) delivering Jews from the Babylonian captivity, (2) delivering
them from sin at the Messiah’s advent, and (3) complete deliverance from
oppression at the
Second Coming of Christ.

Whitcomb sums up this section
noting that...

The first three goals involve the divine
and global control of human rebellion in all its forms, based upon the
defeat of Satan at the cross (Ro 16:20; Heb 2:14; Rev. 20:1, 2, 3). First,
all rebels will be eliminated from the nation of Israel (Ezek 20:34, 35, 36,
37, 38; Mal. 3:1, 2, 3, 4) and then from all Gentile nations (Mt. 24:37-44;
25:31-46), with the unique result that "the earth will be full of the
knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea" (Is 11:9, cf Ps 72:19, Is
6:3, Is 66:18, 19, Hab 2:14, Nu 14:21). Sin will be suppressed and
controlled, but not totally eliminated, for as the Millennium continues and
children are born to the regenerate parents who enter it, the "rod of iron"
aspect of Messiah's rule will become more evi­dent (Ps 2:9; Rev 2:27; 12:5;
19:15). Rare cases of open rebellion will be dealt with suddenly and
supernaturally (Isa. 11:3, 2, 5; 65:20). Thus, Christ will "finish
[literally 'restrain/ the transgression" on planet Earth in answer to the
prayers of His people and "bring in everlasting righteousness" to the glory
of His Father. (Whitcomb, J. Daniel Everyman's Bible Commentary)

Ray comments that first...

Jesus’ sacrifice made these six tasks
possible but the benefits (Ed: At least the "consummation" or
complete fulfillment of these benefits) will not be applied until He returns
and Israel repents. Second, when these six items are evident, all doubters
will have to acknowledge that Yahweh never did forget Israel, for all of His
covenant promises (Ge 15:8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20,
21; 2Sa 7:12, 13; Jer 31:31, 32, 33, 34, etc.) will be “sealed up” in the
kingdom. (Daniel
9:24 - Part 1)

Within these (seventy) "weeks" the
national chastisement must be ended and the nation re-established in
everlasting righteousness

MacArthur adds that of the 6
purposes for the "seventy weeks"...

the first 3 are fulfilled in principle at
Christ’s first coming, in full at His return (Ed: The first 3
purposes pertain in some way to sin, which was dealt with initially on the
Cross when Messiah was cut off). The last 3 (purposes in of the "seventy
weeks") complete the plan at His Second Advent.

The six purposes that God will accomplish
for Israel and Jerusalem (Dan. 9:24-27; see pp. 10-12) can be reduced to one
negative and one positive. God has dealt with man's greatest negative: sin.
And He has provided men and women with a great positive: righteousness. (Israel's
Future--Part 1)

><>><>><>

In
the seventeenth century a very learned Jew published a book in which he set
forth the claims of Jesus Christ to be the Jewish Messiah. In the preface to
the book he told how he himself had been converted by listening to a debate
between a knowledgeable Jew and a Christian convert from Judaism over the
meaning of Daniel 9:24-27. The moderator of the debate was a learned rabbi,
and as the Christian pressed the claims of this passage home it became so
clear that the passage was pointing to Jesus Christ that the rabbi closed
the debate with these words

Let us shut up our
books, for if
we go on examining the prophecy we shall all become Christians. (Amen and
Amen!)

><>><>><>

The seventy weeks prophecy of Daniel
9:24-27 was originally regarded by the rabbis as one of the most important
predictive texts in the Bible. This significance was testified to by the
first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus

He [Daniel] not only
predicted the future, like the other prophets, but specified when the events
would happen (Antiquities x. 268). (Click
and scroll downfor Randall Price's history of
rabbinic interpretation of Daniel's Seventieth Week)

><>><>><>

Leopold Cohn
(pictured below - Addition notes;
Brief Wikipedia article) was
born into an Orthodox Jewish community in Berezna, a small town in eastern
Hungary in 1862. At age 18 he graduated with high marks from the Talmudic
academy and became a rabbi. One of his rituals was to daily repeat the 12th
article of the Jewish creed:

I believe with a perfect faith in the
coming of the Messiah, and though he tarry, yet will I wait daily for his
coming.

Cohn however wondered
why Messiah tarried, but was unsettled by the "answers" he able to find.
While reading the Talmud (collected writings of rabbis
commenting
on the Torah or Old Testament), he discovered that other rabbis had also
wrestled with this question. But as he continued to study he discovered that
the Messiah should have come long ago. This prompted him to study the Hebrew
prophets for himself, and as he studied Daniel’s prophecy of the "70
weeks" in Daniel 9:24-27, it became clear that Daniel had
predicted the coming of Messiah some 400-500 years after the prophecy was
given. But that was 2500 years ago and the rabbis said that Messiah had not
yet come. How could he resolve this contradiction? An older rabbi who served
as Cohn's mentor advised him to drop the subject altogether or he might lose
his rabbinical career because such questions were not to be asked. The rabbi
further explained that he could not discuss the matter without losing his
own job. He even advised Cohn to go to America where, he said, people knew
more about the Messiah. Later, Leopold Cohn recalled this incident and felt
that the rabbi knew something about the Messiah, Jesus. And so in 1892 Cohn
left Hungary for New York City in search of the truth about the Messiah
prompted by his study of Daniel's "Seventy weeks". On one providential day,
Cohn happened to pass by a church in the Jewish section of the city and
noticed a small sign advertising "Meetings for Jews." It was at that meeting
that Cohn met another Jewish an also trained in the Talmud. It was there
that Leopold Cohn was given a copy of the New Testament which he read
straight though beginning at 11:00 one morning and finishing at 1:00 AM the
next day, upon which he concluded that Yeshua (Jesus) was indeed the
promised Messiah prophesied by Daniel to come and be cut off. Soon
thereafter he received Yeshua, Jesus, as his Messiah, Savior and Lord. With
his new found faith, he begin to go to his people, the Jews, and in Cohn's
words

I showed them from the Scriptures that to
believe in Yeshua was Jewish faith, real Jewish faith.

What followed was
sorrow, travail and persecution from other Jews because of his presumed
"betrayal" of their orthodox faith. In 1894 Cohn set up a storefront mission
in a renovated horse stable in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, New York
for the sole purpose of telling others that the Messiah had come and that
his name was Yeshua, Jesus. The first Bible meeting was attended by eight
Jewish people. The Lord continued to bless this work, and in the course of
his lifetime, Leopold Cohn led over 1,000 people to the Lord. His local
mission eventually became the American Board of Missions to the Jews, which
was later re-named ChosenPeopleMinistries.
Over 50 years later a man named Moishe Rosen left that ministry to form what
eventually became Jews for Jesus. This one passage,
Daniel 9:24-27, radically changed an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and led to the
birthing of ministries that have touched literally thousands of Jewish and
Gentile lives around the world.

><> ><> ><>

Donald Campbell former president of Dallas Theological Seminary has an
interesting anecdotal story

Two Christians,
observing the model of first-century Jerusalem at the Holy Land Hotel in
that city, were discussing in particular the future rebuilding of the
temple. A stranger stood nearby listening to their conversation and then
introduced himself as a New York rabbi. He asked in amazement,

"Do Christians really believe in the
rebuilding of a temple in Jerusalem?"

"Haven't you read your prophets, Ezekiel and Daniel? one of
the Christians replied.

"No," the rabbi admitted, "because when I was studying to be a rabbi I was
told not to read Daniel and was particularly forbidden to compute the
prophecy of the seventy weeks in Daniel, chapter 9!"

The reason for such a prohibition? Because the prophetic books, especially
Daniel 9, show that Messiah has already come.

An ancient rabbi said,

"Let the bones of those who reckon the
times tremble."

(To which Campbell responds)

Rather may it be said, "let the hearts of
those who reckon the times rejoice! For Messiah has come and provided
salvation for all who believe. (Daniel: God's Man in a Secular Society:
Discovery House Publishing, 198)

Context is always "king" in regard to accurate interpretation and thus this
is the single most important piece of evidence for the "seventy units of
sevens" being a reference to "years". From the context of
chapter 9, Daniel had been thinking in terms of
years (not days, weeks or months) having just read in Jeremiah about the "seventy years"
of punishment

in the first year of his reign I,
Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as
the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the
desolations of Jerusalem (see phrase "seventy years" in Jer 25:11,
12, 29:10), namely, seventy years. (Da
9:2-note)

Here God's answer to Daniel's prayer is in terms of seventy
"sevens" of years. (Click
here for discussion by Thomas Ice)

is proven by the context wherein Daniel recognizes that the
seventy-year period of captivity is almost over. The land had been fallow
for seventy years and thus repaid the Lord the seventy sabbatical years owed
to Him for the prior seventy periods of sevenyears (Da
9:2; Jer 25:12; cf. 2Chr 36:21). Just as Daniel is in
prayer concerning this matter, the angel Gabriel appears and informs him
that Israel’s restoration will not be complete until she goes through
another seventy periods-of-seven, shabua' (Da 9:24-27)! ... Thus here it means years.

In the next two (near) uses of shabua' in Daniel 10:2, 3 both uses are
"qualified" with the specific time unit of days. Thus Young's Literal
reads "three weeks of days" (Da 10:2, 3YLT). Since the context of
Daniel 9:24-27 so clearly supports "years" as the unit of time, if Daniel
had intended any other unit of time, surely he would have so specified.

This line of evidence obviously overlaps somewhat with (#1) but is still
important to emphasize. If Daniel 9:24-27 is interpreted literally, it is impossible to
fit the events, specifically the cutting off of the Messiah, into
periods of days, weeks or months. It is a historic fact
that Messiah was not present in Israel within 490 days (about one and
one-third years), 490 weeks (about nine and one-half years) or 490 months
(about 41 years) after the decree to rebuild the city (assuming as the most
likely date 444/445 BC - see discussion). The literal
interpretation of this passage and the historical fulfillment of the first
part of the prophecy demands that one
interpret the "70 units of seven" in terms of years.

3)
Seven Times More:Leviticus 26 helps
understand Daniel's "seventy units of sevens" as referring to years. In
Lev 26:14, 15, 16, 17 God had issued a general warning to Israel that she
would be punished for breaking the Mosaic covenant. Although there were
many "lesser" punishments for Israel over the centuries (e.g., see
the Book of Judges) the "summa cum laude" (with highest distinction) example of
punishment was the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem, the Holy Temple and the 70 years
of exile in the land of Babylon while the land rested for 70 years to make
up the 70 missed Sabbath years (which covered the previous 490 years). In Leviticus 26:18 God
added the warning to Israel that "if
also after these things, you do not obey Me, then I will punish you
seven times more for your sins."
While seven is certainly a symbolic number indicating completeness (Rev 3:1), in this
case it may also convey a literal meaning (Observe that the first 10 uses of
"seven times" in Leviticus all reflect a literal use of this number,
usually sprinkling of blood - Lev 4:6, 17, 8:11, 14:7, 16, 27, 51, 16:14,
19, 25:8, then the next 4 refer to Israel's sin - Lev 26:18, 21, 24, 28! 24x
seven refers to a specific unit of time - days! - Lev 8:33, 35; 12:2; 13:4,
21, 26, 31, 50; 14:8, 38; 15:13, 19, 24, 28; 22:27; 23:6, 8, 34, 36, 39, 40,
41, 42).
In short, seven times more is almost assuredly meant to be taken literally
not figuratively. How long would seven times more be? Seven times seventy years more
would be 490 years. God through His messenger Gabriel was explaining to Daniel that
although the Jews would return to Jerusalem after the 70 years, the full
restoration of the nation would not be realized until 490 more years had
passed.

This line of reasoning is also suggested in The Nelson Study Bible where we read that the note that

Leviticus 25:8 speaks of “seven sabbaths of years”; Lev 26:18, 21 (which) implies that Israel’s
punishment would be multiplied sevenfold. Therefore, a seventy “week”
exile would be expected to last for seven times seventy years. (The
Nelson Study Bible : NKJV: T. Nelson Publishers. 1997).

4)
Other Prophetic Time Phrases:

In Da 9:27 there is a separate
"seven" or "week" during which time a covenant is made and broken in the
middle. If one accepts the "seven" as seven years, this would mean that the
covenant would be broken at the three and one-half year point, and this
description correlates with Jesus' warning in Mt 24:15,21 that when the Jews

see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the
prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand)...then there
will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of
the world until now, nor ever shall.

This midpoint
of the last 7 year period
then marks a three and one-half year period of great distress for the Jews which Jesus called the
great tribulation and correlates with the other descriptions of this same
time period ...

5)
The Law of Moses and Israel's Failure to Keep Past "Sabbath rests":

The following makes several assumptions, so you may find it to be a
weaker argument for "years" as the appropriate unit of time. Read it critically
and accept it if you will, but if not, do not let
it detract from the merits of the other lines of logic, especially the
argument from context. Daniel was a man of the Book, and would likely have had access to the
"Pentateuch", the first five books of Moses. Daniel as a student
of the Scriptures was surely familiar with the law relating to the required
rest for
the land. For example, notice in his prayer he says

Indeed all Israel
has transgressed Thy law and turned aside, not obeying Thy voice; so the
curse (e.g., see Lev 26:14, 15, 16, 17) has been poured out on us,
along with the oath which is written in thelaw of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him. Thus He has
confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our
rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole
heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem. As
it is written in the
law of Moses,
all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the
LORD our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Thy truth.
"Therefore, the LORD has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us;
for the LORD our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has
done, but we have not obeyed His voice. (Da 9:11, 12, 14)

Specifically Daniel knew from reading the law
of Moses
that

Six
years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard
and gather in its crop, but during the seventh year the land (of
Israel) shall have a sabbath rest,
a sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard.
(Lev 25:3, 4)

In the following chapter (Leviticus
26:1-46) Daniel knew the blessings of obedience but the punishment for
breaking the
sabbathrest,
for God declared

I will scatter among the nations (fulfilled the
first time in the exile to Babylon) and will draw out a sword after you,
as your land becomes desolate and your cities become waste (which is
what happened to Judah, Jerusalem and the Temple). Then the land
will enjoy (Hebrew can mean satisfy a debt) its sabbaths
all the days of the desolation, (11x
in Jeremiah23x in Ezekiel
both prophesying of the Babylonian captivity) while you are in your
enemies’ land; then the land will rest and enjoy (satisfy
the debt of) its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation
it will observe the rest which
it did not observe on your sabbaths, while you were living on it.
(Lev 26:33, 34, 35, 35)

How many sabbath rests were to be "paid back"? Seventy
years, the time specified in Jeremiah (Jer 25:11, 12, 29:10) and explained
in Second Chronicles where we read that

those who had escaped from the sword he
(Nebuchadnezzar) carried away to Babylon and they were servants to him
and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word
of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed
(satisfy the debt of) its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation
it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete. (2Chr 36:20, 21)

The 70 years in captivity
was not chosen arbitrarily but was directly related to the number of
"Sabbath Years" Israel had not kept. So for how many years had Israel not kept the 70
cycles of "sabbath rests"?

One answer might be 70 years but in fact their
disobedience covers seventy cycles of seven years or
490 years. Each year of captivity represented one seven-year
cycle. So for
a total of 490 years of Israel's approximately 800 year history (to 605BC
when the 70 years exile began), the nation had failed to keep the "sabbath
rest" for the land! Now look at
the diagram below.

As Gabriel revealed Israel's future to Daniel, it
would be reasonable for Daniel to conclude that the future prophesy
of "seventy units of seven" also referred to years. There would be 490 years before Gods people would
experience restoration of their holy city and holy temple and reconciliation with their
holy God (See Ro 11:25, 26, 27-note
and Zec 13:8, 9)

6)
Use in Rabbinic Literature:

Although shabua' (unit of seven) does not refer to years
anywhere else in Scripture, shabua' does have this meaning in the Mishnah
(Baba Metzia ix. 10; Sanhedrin v1), a collection of rabbinic laws compiled
about 200AD.﻿

7) If the prophecy was in days,
weeks or months, it would have been of little comfort to Daniel to know that
Jerusalem would be destroyed again in a relatively short time (Da 9:26).

Barnes notes that Gabriel...

comes to bring him [Daniel]
consolation…But what consolation would it be to be told that the city would
indeed be rebuilt, and that it would continue seventy ordinary weeks - that
is, a little more than a year, before a new destruction would come upon it?
(Notes on the Old Testament)

(1) The seventy sevens are
consecutive years and they end at the time of Antiochus Epiphanes (about 163
BC). (See
related discussion on Antiochus Epiphanes - Da 8:9-note,
Da 8:17-note,
Da 8:19-note;
see also Daniel notes
and
additional discussion)

(2) Symbolic interpretation of the
seventy sevens ending in the first century AD.

(3) Symbolic interpretation that
sees the sevens as unspecified eras beginning in 538 BC and ending at
Jesus' return at the end of the age.

(4) The literal interpretation
which sees the 490 years as occurring in 3 divisions, with a gap between the
69th and 70th week.

claims (p.206), “The burden of proof
rests with those who insist that (literal) sevens of years
are intended. Of this I am not convinced. If the sevens be regarded merely
as a symbolicnumber, the difficulty disappears.” On the
contrary, it is magnified. By not taking the numbers at face value, one can
assign any value to them. The burden of proof rests on those who want to
impute a special or unusual meaning to a phrase. (Ref)